That’s why we tested dozens of free torrent clients and compiled a list of the 10 best ones. If you’re in a hurry, take a quick look at our picks for the best free torrent clients: With sophisticated online threats looming around each corner, torrenting has also become more dangerous than ever. That’s why we always recommend using a solid VPN during your download sessions. NordVPN is our #1 pick for torrenting since it offer a perfect balance of security, anonymity, and performance. Torrent clients let you download files from peers who are “seeding” them from their devices. Free torrent downloaders range from annoying (serving you ads) to downright dangerous (riddled with malware). Picking the best free torrent client is essential for secure downloads. We tested over a dozen free P2P clients and found the 10 safest options for casual users. Check our findings and recommendations in the full article below.
The Top 10 Best Free Torrent Clients
After our extensive testing, we came up with a list of the 10 best torrent clients. Some are great for beginners, while others cater to more advanced users. Some of these free torrent downloaders are also platform-specific, which is an important factor to keep in mind. Without further delay, let’s get into the pros, cons, and features of the best free torrent clients you can download torrent files today.
1. qBittorrent: Best free torrent client overall
Website: https://www.qbittorrent.org/ qBittorrent is a lightweight torrent client (around 29MB on Windows) launched in 2006 by a group of independent volunteers. It was envisioned as a free, open-source program and has kept those attributes to this day. In other words, qBittorrent is one of the few P2P clients that are completely free. Since donations keep it afloat, it doesn’t have to lock features behind a paywall or serve you with aggressive adware. Its open-source nature also provides full transparency since anyone can check the code. It also allows independent programmers to create third-party plug-ins, which is something you can’t do with uTorrent, for example. qBittorrent’s polished interface offers a ton of advanced features while remaining perfectly beginner-friendly. It gives you full control of your torrenting experience with its customizable options. Some of them include:
Simultaneous search on the best torrent sites Category-specific searches (movies, TV shows, books) Support for many Bittorrent extensions (magnet links, DHT, PEX, LSD) Remote control through web UI Sequential downloading (you define the order) Bandwidth scheduler Built-in RSS feed support
qBittorrent supports SOCKS5 connections, which will hide your real IP in the client (not in your browser, though, or anywhere else). It also won’t encrypt your traffic. Since it’s not a substitute for a real VPN, we only recommend using proxies if you’re on an extremely slow connection. There’s also an option to bind your VPN to the qBittorrent client. If you don’t want to rely solely on a VPN kill switch, you can prevent data leaks by making sure that all P2P traffic is routed through a secure VPN tunnel. qBittorrent is available on many platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, OS/2, and FreeBSD. Notably, it doesn’t support Android devices. The client supports around 70 languages.
2. uTorrent: The most popular free torrent client
Website: https://www.utorrent.com/ With over one billion downloads, uTorrent is the most popular torrent download software on this list. According to TorrentFreak’s research, uTorrent held 68.6% of the torrenting market share in 2020. For reference, qBittorrent held only 3.4%. uTorrent’s Android support is also one of the few advantages it holds over qBittorrent. Since uTorrent is almost identical to BitTorrent, we’ll first focus on some safety concerns rather than its features. These concerns and fixes are also applicable to BitTorrent. The owner of uTorrent and BitTorrent is a company called Rainberry Inc. Although the client is straightforward to use, the main problem is its parent company’s aggressive privacy policy. Namely, it records a lot of data that could put you at risk. This includes:
Personal data: Your name, password, email, display name Location: Your precise location Connection logs: Your IP address, user settings, port number, MAC address, mobile carrier, ISP, and more Activity logs: The pages you visit, the links you click, the duration of your sessions, etc.
Rainberry’s logging practices are downright dangerous. If the company gets hacked, the information that could positively identify you will end up in the wrong hands. Also, Rainberry is an American company, which means it can be forced to hand over user data to the authorities. Scary as all this may be, you can hide your sensitive data from Rainberry by using a reliable VPN and adopting some basic online safety practices. We never recommend torrenting without a VPN anyway. In other words, you can easily fix uTorrent’s biggest problem and enjoy your downloads risk-free.
3. BitTorrent: The original BitTorrent client
Website: https://www.bittorrent.com/ BitTorrent is often referred to as the “original torrenting app” since it’s the oldest client on this list. Despite its age, BitTorrent is still getting updates to this day. Its owners are also the developers of uTorrent, which explains the similarities between the two clients. BitTorrent’s sleek and simple UI is one of the things that made it so popular and everlasting. Its list of advanced features is nothing to scoff at as well, though keep in mind that you’ll get almost the same client if you download uTorrent. Some of these clients’ features include:
Bulk torrenting (you can download dozens of files at once) Prioritizing specific torrents Adjustable download/upload speed limits Remote management Download scheduler
On the other hand, the free version of BitTorrent comes with ads. You can remove these either by getting the premium ad-free package ($4.95/month) or by installing a reliable ad blocker. During setup, the installer will prompt you to install additional third-party products. Since all these are completely optional, we don’t see them as a huge problem, but product pushing can definitely be annoying. BitTorrent client supports all major systems, including Windows, macOS, and Android. If you like ancient OS versions, you’ll be glad to know that BitTorrent supports everything from Windows XP onwards. If your antivirus program flags BitTorrent during installation, it’s most likely because of the third-party offers (bloatware). Note that these are regularly flagged as potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), which is exactly what they are. Since these are optional, you can simply refuse to install them. The most important thing is that the BitTorrent client itself is completely malware-free.
4. Transmission: Best for Mac users
Website: https://transmissionbt.com/ Transmission is the best torrent client with the easiest learning curve out there. It was for this reason that Transmission became the default BitTorrent client for Ubuntu. It’s also the most popular option among macOS users, according to the aforementioned TorrentFreak research. The team behind Transmission gave it their all to create software with the lowest memory usage possible. The result was a powerful open-source, volunteer-based product that doesn’t serve any ads. Here are some of Transmission’s prominent features:
Remote access and control Optional Daemon support and command line tools Optional speed caps A decent number of third-party add-ons (including Kodi support) Local peer discovery Encryption Magnet link support
Transmission’s lower memory consumption also means that it can provide better speeds on slower machines. The available add-ons include remote controls for all devices, RSS tools, portable daemons, a PowerShell module, and more. If you encounter a problem, there’s an active community forum and you can also access the “report-a-bug” discussions on GitHub. Transmission currently supports Windows, macOS, and Linux.
5. Deluge: The best selection of plugins
Website: https://deluge-torrent.org/ Deluge is an open-source P2P client that relies on the libtorrent library like many other programs on this list. It’s completely free and doesn’t feature any ads in the client. Its UI might not be the prettiest to look at but it delivers good functionality and excellent customization options. Some of Deluge’s prominent features include:
A vast selection of plug-ins Licensing under GPL (the code can be checked by anyone) Enhanced encryption Torrent prioritization and selective downloading Alternative UIs (web and command line-based)
Deluge’s main strength lies in its impressive collection of plug-ins. If you can think it, Deluge has a plugin for it. This includes both proprietary and third-party software. For example, you can import IP blocklists, assign labels to torrents, limit Deluge’s bandwidth, display graphs, shut down your computer when the torrent is complete, and much more. It really adds a new level of depth to torrent downloading. On the other hand, plug-in compatibility can be annoying since some of them don’t receive updates anymore. Deluge can also be challenging to install, so it’s not exactly beginner-friendly. Deluge currently supports Windows, macOS, and Linux.
6. BitLord: Best for complete beginners
Website: http://www.bitlord.com/ BitLord is a solid P2P client launched in 2004 by a company called House of Life. According to its creators, BitLord was designed to be “easy to use and pretty to look at.” Fortunately, the client offers much more than that. Some of its top features include:
File sharing with other users Built-in media player Subtitle support Wi-Fi-only mode Torrent search engine
BitLord is completely free and doesn’t push any ads. On the other hand, once installed, it will recommend additional software like Avast Antivirus, Opera, or ExpressVPN. This can be annoying, but we are talking about a completely free service without any features locked behind a paywall. At the moment, BotLord supports Windows, macOS, and Android. Finally, BitLord’s privacy policy is as aggressive as uTorrent’s so we don’t recommend using it without a good VPN.
7. Vuze: Best for torrenters with powerful computers
Website: https://www.vuze.com/ Vuze is a powerful torrent client that takes torrent management to a whole new level. There are plenty of advanced options that let you customize your P2P experience to the smallest detail. As such, Vuze is primarily recommended to tech-savvy torrenters. Some of its selling points include:
Integrated meta-search for torrent discovery Library of plug-ins for customization Remote control options Media player detection and video conversion Swarm discovery
The premium version called Vuze+ also lets you play media while downloading torrents and doesn’t have any ads. Oddly enough, Vuze+ lets you burn DVDs from the client, which is not something many users will find useful, in our opinion. Vuze also comes with the largest support database out there. At your disposal, you have active community forums and Vuze Wiki, which offers loads of content. Vuze+ users have access to premium support as well. You can even bundle Vuze with their proprietary VPN, but we recommend against it. On the other hand, Vuze free is ad-supported and will try to sneak in an antivirus program during the installation. Also, unlike uTorrent, for example, Vuze is java-based, which means it has a more significant impact on your RAM and CPU. Finally, Vuze supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its Android app hasn’t received an update since 2016 and has compatibility issues with the newer versions of the system.
8. Tixati: Best for power users
Website: https://www.tixati.com/ Tixati is a powerful torrent client exclusive to Windows and Linux devices. It contains no ads or spyware and it’s completely free. It’s not the prettiest of clients, but it makes up for it with the sheer volume of good features. Here’s what makes Tixati so special:
Fast downloading algorithms Magnet link, PEX, and DHT support No Java or .net Enhanced peer selection RC4 encryption In-depth management and bandwidth charting Advanced features like IP filtering, RSS, and event scheduler
Although the initial installation might get tricky, it’s smooth sailing from there. The provided support articles should get you through the installation process rather quickly.
9. BiglyBT: Operated by the former developers of Vuze
Website: https://www.biglybt.com/ BiglyBT is a free, open-source client with a clean interface free from any intrusive ads. It offers some interesting features you won’t find anywhere else. In 2003, BiglyBT was a part of the original Vuze/Azureus project but branched out in 2017 to become a standalone P2P client. Here are some of BiglyBT’s best features:
Swarm merging to complete torrents with missing bits Custom rate limitations that can be scheduled Built-in WebTorrent tracker Remote control Swarm discoveries and meta-search I2P for anonymous downloads Automatic VPN detection for optimal integration Media playback and conversion
The only downside is that BiglyBT can be a bit more resource-heavy than other clients on this list. It currently supports Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux.
10. Bitport: Best for cloud torrenting
Website: https://bitport.io/ Bitport is a unique torrent downloader because it uses cloud storage for your downloads instead of your computer. This frees up space on your device, plus you don’t even have to download a client. All you need to use Bitport is a good browser. Having said that, Bitport is quite limited if you decide not to go premium. Here’s what their free version includes:
1 GB cloud storage One download slot HTTPS and antivirus checked Online stream
Premium packages can offer up to 20 download slots and extra features like RSS downloader and syncing with Google Drive. The website also features plenty of support articles and manuals. Bitport’s approach is definitely a novelty in the torrenting world, but having your downloads in the cloud is a good failsafe if your computer crashes.
How to Stay Safe When Using a Free Torrent Client
There are two types of security concerns connected to torrenting and free P2P clients:
Malware infections Data leaks
Malware infections can occur when you install a malicious P2P client or download a virus-infected torrent file. You can avoid this by using safe clients from this list and employing a reliable antivirus program like Norton 360. On the other hand, potential data leaks could be used to identify you as an individual and trace your P2P traffic back to you. Since torrenting shows your IP address to all the peers in your swarm, we recommend using a solid VPN that can replace it with a fake one. When it comes to airtight security and anonymity, NordVPN has been our #1 pick for quite some time.
Why You Should Use a VPN with Your Torrent Client
As we already mentioned, torrenting will expose your IP address to the rest of your peers. Although proxy servers can change your IP, only a full-blown VPN can encrypt your traffic. In other words, VPNs can hide your IP and online traffic from your ISP, hackers, or the authorities. Having said that, we don’t recommend using these tools for illegal downloads. Apart from security, VPNs can also circumvent ISP throttling and boost your download speed. If you’re not using a VPN, your ISP can see that you’re downloading torrents. Most providers frown upon torrenting and will try to conserve bandwidth by throttling you into the ground. However, if your traffic is encrypted, no one can know what you’re actually doing. Lastly, VPNs will allow you to access torrent sites in censorship-heavy countries like China, for example. Having access to servers around the globe will make easy work of any geo-restrictions and similar measures. If your VPN malfunctions for whatever reason, a kill switch will activate and cut your connection before your data leaks out. Some free torrent clients like qBittorrent also allow you to bind your VPN to the P2P client’s interface. Having said all that, the market is saturated with low-tier VPNs that range from useless to actively malicious. Services like Hola, for example, will hog your resources and use them to mine crypto. That’s why we only recommend going with the best VPNs for torrenting out there.
Is Using a Torrent Client Legal?
While torrenting itself isn’t illegal in most countries, downloading copyrighted content is. Depending on the country, illegal downloads can lead to anything from hefty fines to jail time. In many countries, governments and ISPs are working together to suppress P2P-caused copyright infringements. Your ISP can be forced to hand over your personal data if they get such a request from the government. The US is also famous for its gag orders that prevent ISPs from informing you about the process against you. If you’re caught downloading illegal files, you could get a letter from copyright enforcers. These individuals or companies hunt down torrenters on behalf of Hollywood production companies and threaten legal action if a small settlement isn’t paid. Sometimes the government will try and block torrent websites. While this is becoming less common, there are ways around these blocks. The best way to access blocked or geo-restricted websites is by using a VPN. For example, you can use a VPN to access Pirate Bay if your government is actively blocking it.
Conclusion: The Best Free Torrent Client for You
With so many free torrent clients out there, finding the best one for you can prove quite a challenge. This is especially true if you’re a complete P2P beginner. Torrenting involves a lot of technical knowledge that feels like a chore when you just want to download a good movie. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best free torrent clients for this year. They’re all similar in many ways but have enough distinctions to cater to different tastes. So, whether you’re a complete beginner or a power torrenter, you’ll definitely find something that works for you.
